Jack of all trades, master of none

There are so many things that you “need” to figure out in order to build your business and be successful. But the truth is, there are too many choices, and you can’t do them all. You shouldn’t do them all.

You’re probably not doing a great job at all of them, so instead try to focus on something you really like doing, or something that you already know the basics off.

I started with Instagram, because I already had an audience to start with and I know my way around the app. Now I’m slowly implementing Pinterest strategies as well. It’s okay to expand and use a secondary source, but make sure you have a great set up for the first.

You’re the product

People are going to buy you.

They want your voice, your way of things, your opinions. And you should build your brand around that. Because if you build a brand around a personality that is not you, than you’ll hate your business.

And people are smart and will see through it. Being yourself is worth a lot of money.

You should be the same person in your blog post as you would be in real life. People like honesty and transparency, and will buy more from you when they know they can trust you.

Don’t waste your time

Haters gonna hate and players gonna play.

If you have haters, that means you’re doing something relevant. For every person that has seen your blog post and put a hate comment under it, a lot more have also seen it and appreciated it. Maybe eve learnt from it and got inspired.

If you simply don’t respond to the negativity, and show that you don’t care what people think of you, it will show others that you are confident about yourself and your business. It shows authority.

Don’t try to explain yourself, don’t try to make the person understand and don’t try to reason or answer your haters. Set a tone, use them to teach a lesson or delete them. Then move on.

Stay relevant

Although there are some great stories about how old posts still make people money, there’s also a downside to that.

If your post gets popular, then a lot of people will see it. If a lot of people see it, there exists a chance that someone will copy your content. Maybe even word for word.

If that’s the case, you should up your game. Keeping that content is fine. Still making money of it is great! But make sure that your audience knows that you are more than that.

Make sure you keep your stuff new and relevant. That you have something to contribute that others don’t have.

Lessons in Gambling

Thomas Austin Preston Jr., aka Amarillo Slim, was an American professional gambler. He was known for his proposition bets and outmaneuver his opponents at the poker table. In his autobiography there’s a list with the “Lessons in Gambling”.

The things in this list can apply to gambling, but also to marketing, business in general, and of course blogging.

Guessers always lose

Decisions, not results

Choose the right opponents

The guy who invented gambling was smart. The guy who invented chips was a genius.

Play the player more than you play the cards.

All you can do is make the plays that you have a percentage of success and put yourself in a position to win.

It’s a simple fact that the less you brag on something, the more it will sell.

Be tight and aggressive. Don’t play many hands, but when you do play, be prepared to move in big.

Be able to quit a loser, and for goodness sake, keep playing when you’re winning.